Apple has said that Apple Watch would be coming in early 2015. And lately there have been rumors about the device shipping in March. As a developer, speech-language pathologist (SLP), and a presenter of iOS apps for special needs, I need to anticipate the device’s impact on our profession. Recently, I have been researching the platform more, so I’d like to share what I know and how an SLP may use Apple Watch.

For the initial rollout of Apple Watch, 3rd party apps will be extensions of iOS apps; that is, the apps will be part of existing apps for iPhone/iPad, as opposed to standalone apps that function without an iOS app counterpart. In fact, developers create a Watch app as a target of an existing Xcode project, similarly to how an app may have free and paid versions as targets in the same project. One caveat is that Apple is expected to initially ship Watch with standalone apps, and 3rd party developers expect to create standalone apps later down the road.

For now, Watch apps will come in three variants: full apps, glances, and notifications. Full apps include a full user interface that users can launch, control, and interact with on Watch; Glances have read-only information that a user can view, but not interact with; Notifications provide information with an action that the user can take. A full app experience is required; whereas, glances and notifications are optional.

Let’s suppose a 3rd party developer wants to create a ToDo app for Watch that complements their existing ToDo app for iPhone. The developer adds a target in their existing Xcode project to create a full app and decides whether to include optional glances or notifications. Here’s how the ToDo app might be implemented on Watch, and how an SLP could use the Watch app:

Full app
The ToDo app is launched directly from the Watch, then the SLP views ToDo items (previously added via the iPhone app) in a table. He/she taps a table row to indicate a ToDo item (e.g., call a parent) has been completed via the Watch app.

Glances
The SLP receives a ToDo glance informing him/her that a ToDo item (e.g., write an assessment report) needs to be completed. Then, the SLP launches the corresponding ToDo app on his/her iPhone and navigates to uncompleted items in the iPhone app.

Notifications
The SLP receives a ToDo notification indicating that a ToDo item (e.g., organize therapy folders) needs to be completed. The SLP does the item, then presses a button via the Watch notification to indicate the item has been completed.

Apple Watch is coming soon and developers can create a full app experience with or without glances and notifications. As a developer, SLP, and presenter of apps for special needs, it’s important to explore how professionals such as SLPs will use Watch. One implementation is a ToDo app, but there are several other implementations to also consider in anticipation of Apple Watch.